Kopi Luwak owns the title 'the most expensive coffee in the world'. It has a strong aroma, but it is described as 'sweet' and 'smooth' by those who have tasted it. A mere 500kg of the beans are harvested per annum, so relatively few consumers can partake, even if they could afford it. Figures available in 2008 put the beans at retailing up to £300 a pound (½kg), with select restaurants (like the Heritage Tea Rooms in Queensland) offering a steaming cup at 50 Australian dollars. If you just want to purchase a thoughtful gift for a loved one¹, the Heritage sells the coffee beans in 1kg (2.2lb) and ½kg (1.1lb) bags.

Coffee

Coffee is the hot drink of choice for around half the world's population (the other half drink versions of tea). It's an important drink, many people feel they can't function without it. Probably most are happy with the best roasted version from their local supermarket, not dreaming of a mega-bucks caffeine-fix. However, suppose you won the lottery, or a long-lost uncle remembered you in his will, would you be tempted to fork out for a bag of the most expensive coffee beans in the world? Before you splash out on the ultimate aromatic beverage, consider whether you'll be able to enjoy it when you learn how it gains its unique flavour.

Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak is roasted, packaged, sold, ground, brewed then drunk.
The most important part of the process though, is how the coffee beans are – how to put this delicately – harvested. In parts of Indonesia, workers in the coffee industry (you could say they're at the bottom of the pile) have a very important job to do. They have to track down, following their noses no doubt, the rectal excretions of a native nocturnal animal called the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), a mammal the size of a domestic cat. Asian Palm Civets are omnivores which are partial to small rodents (rats, mice and voles), large crunchy insects (cockroach, locust, stag beetles, etc), fledglings (and bird eggs), and fruit like figs, rambutan and mango. They also like the sap from palm flowers, which, when digested, chemically changes (ferments) into an alcoholic liquid, so yes, Civets like to imbibe.

Another foodstuff they consume is coffee berries. However, as most humans know, what you eat doesn't always agree with you, and you end up losing the undigested stuff one way or another. The Civet devours the coffee berries, but its digestive tract can't quite finish the process, so what's left is excreted as partially-digested coffee beans along with a good dollop of Civet diarrhoea.

Now the animal has done its part of the business, along come the Indonesian workers to locate and collect the delicacy. No special scoop is necessary, fingers can do the job much better, as it's less fiddly and certainly quicker. Gathering up the exquisite excreta, which is worth its weight in gold, may be a messy job but definitely worthwhile. All that needs to be done then is to wash off the dung and what's left is pure gold — the coffee beans are ready for roasting.

The author of this Entry has done extensive research among the coffee lovers of her acquaintance trying to find someone who has tasted this expensive beverage which passed through the digestive system of an animal first and was willing to be quoted, even anonymously — to no avail. People who have partaken and written about it describe its attributes thus: 'earthy, musty, syrupy, smooth and rich with jungle and chocolate undertones'. All that remains is to recite part of the plot of a film in which Kopi Luwak plays no small part.

The Bucket List

Be aware: contains spoilers.

The 2007 Hollywood film The Bucket List, starring acting legends Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, is about two men who are both diagnosed with cancer. The über rich Edward Cole (Nicholson) and cash-poor Carter Chambers (Freeman) first meet when they share a hospital room on the oncology ward. They begin to bond as friends when both receive an identical prognosis about their health at the same time. When Edward offers Carter a cup of his mega-expensive coffee, Carter asks what it is. Edward brags that it's Kopi Luwak, the most exclusive coffee in the world. Carter refuses, saying I don't drink that shit. It's not until the end of the film when trivia buff Carter enlightens Edward about the process which gives Kopi Luwak coffee its unique flavour and expensive price-tag that the viewing audience remember Carter's comment at the outset, and join in with the laughter of the two stricken men onscreen.

Who Tried It First?

It must have been a very brave soul who sifted through Civet poo, washed the coffee beans, roasted then ground, diluted and drank the liquid before deciding it was good enough to market. Either they had divine inspiration or were of a perverse mind: more likely it's one of those cultural stories that has passed through each generation — known and accepted by the local population who probably wonder what all the fuss is about. Possibly a tribal chief and his hierarchy passed a motion before they let the secret upon the world — we can only ponder what delicacies remain hidden from view.